There’s no need to sit in your car and rage out to heavy metal, Dead to Me fans. Netflix has confirmed that the drama, starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, will definitely be returning for Dead to Me Season 3. And now, after a prolonged wait, fans finally know exactly when we can expect to see TV moms Jen and Judy on our screens again… which is sooner than you think. That knowledge may help temper the sadness fans still feel over the news this will be the last batch of new episodes ever. Just days after the second season premiered, Netflix confirmed the third season will be the series’ last. And so, it joins the ranks of other wildly popular dramedies like This Is Us and FX’s Better Things that we’ll have to say goodbye in 2022. (*sob*)

When news of Dead to Me’s impending end broke, showrunner Liz Feldman told The Hollywood Reporter that it was probably for the best. She explained, “I always had the sense that I wanted this show to be a relatively short-running one. I understand the landscape at Netflix. It’s very rare for them to have a show that goes five, six, or seven seasons. It can happen, but it’s obviously the exception. Halfway through shooting season two, an idea came to me that felt very true to the show — and I realized that it could be a really great way to end it.”

Luckily for fans, it sounds like the show will attempt to tie up all the unfinished business between Jen and Judy come the series finale. And for those who are just dying for more content similar to it, rest assured that Feldman has signed a multi-year contract with Netflix, meaning that she will be writing and producing more shows in the future. So, it’s sad that Dead to Me will be ending after Season 3, but that only means Feldman has time to develop more shows in the future.

For now, here’s everything we know so far about Dead to Me‘s final season.

Dead to Me Season 3 Release Date

At long last, fans finally know when the long-anticipated final chapter will hit Netflix — the streamer has confirmed Dead to Me will return on Nov. 17. Bonus: The release date news came with the first teaser for the long-awaited season.

Back in September 2020, Feldman had confirmed that the show was still in the writing process. It was then set to film in December 2020, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic pushed that back, and they didn’t hit the set until January 2021. Then, per What’s On Netflix, filming was pushed back even further due to the pandemic and didn’t get really underway until May of that year.

Then, in August 2021, Applegate shared that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She shared on Twitter, “Hi friends. A few months ago, I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.” CBS Studios (which produces the show) and Netflix also shared a joint statement supporting Applegate taking some time off.

However, The Daily Mail reported in mid-November 2021 that Applegate was back on the Dead to Me set, meaning filming must have re-commenced. And Applegate herself tweeted “soon” when asked by a Twitter follower when to expect more episodes.

Dead to Me Season 3 Cast

Obviously, Dead to Me would be nothing without the chaotic dynamic between Applegate and Cardellini’s characters, so they are clearly going to be in Season 3. The show also introduced viewers to Katey Sagal in Season 2, so she will likely return as well. Then there’s the rest of the cast: Jen’s children Charlie (Sam McCarthy) and Henry (Luke Roessler), police detective Ana Perez (Diana-Maria Riva), Nick (Brandon Scott), Karen (Suzy Nakamura), Christopher (Max Jenkins), Lorna (Valerie Mahaffey), Pastor Wayne (Keong Sim), and Steve’s semi-identical twin brother Ben, played by James Marsden. Although Season 2 ended with a car crash involving the women and Ben, it seems safe to assume Marsden will be back, though Netflix hasn’t confirmed anything yet.

As far as who is unlikely to come back, we have Judy’s ex-lover, chef Michelle (played by Natalie Morales). That story seems to have come to a close.

Dead to Me Season 3 Plot and Spoilers

Feldman had spoken with Vulture about wanting Season 3 to reflect the current state of the world. She told the magazine, “I had a version of an end for season three that I’m rethinking, actually. Because I think it’s important to pay attention to where we are collectively as a human race and to be sensitive to the fact that our audience is living through this incredibly difficult moment in history.”

And of course, Season 3 of Dead to Me will absolutely have to cover the aftermath of the car crash and what Jen’s son Charlie is going to do with that letter she wrote to Judy. There will likely be tons of twists and turns as investigators close in on Jen and Judy both for the hit-and-run that started it all and Steven’s subsequent murder. Most interestingly, the same Daily Mail article revealed that Applegate and Cardellini were filming on a Malibu beach and that Applegate was wearing a fake baby bump, so that’s definitely a major plot twist.

“There was a certain point when we were in production on Season 2 when the end of the show came to me, pretty profoundly, so I realized, ‘I know the story that I have to tell’ and Season 3 feels like the right time to do that,” Feldman told Devdiscourse. “It’s just something that came to me organically, and I tend to try to follow the gut feeling I have.”

While we don’t know the exact date when Dead to Me is coming back (just fall 2022), it’s certainly on its way and the final season promises to be as much of a roller coaster as ever.